Lower Permian "mecopteroid-like" insects from central Europe (Insecta, Endopterygota)

Abstract

Five new genera and eight new species of endopterygote insects are described from Lower Permian (Asselian and Artinskian) strata from Moravia, Czechoslovakia. Three of the genera belong to the family Protomeropidae: Pseudomerope n.gen. (including Pseudomerope mareki n.sp., Pseudomerope havlati n.sp., Pseudomerope oborana n.sp., Pseudomerope gallei n.sp.); Pseudomeropella n.gen. (including Pseudomeropella nekvasilovae n.sp.); and Stenomerope n.gen. (including Stenomerope spinari n.sp.). The fourth genus, Moravochorista n.gen. (including Moravochorista Carolina n.sp.), is similar to Pinnachorista and Kaltanochorista from the Lower Permian of the Kuznetsk Basin, USSR, but has not been assigned to a higher taxon. The phylogenetic position of both the Protomeropidae and Moravochorista and of their allies, within the endopterygotes is unclear. The fifth genus, Microptysmella n.gen. (including Microptysmella moravica n.sp.), may be the earliest known member of Amphiesmenoptera, since it exhibits almost the same wing venation as the amphiesmenopteran Microptysma sibiricum Martynova from the Lower Permian of the USSR.Wing-venation symbols homologous within the pterygote ground plan have been used in the descriptions. The vein "M5" of earlier authors is regarded as homologous to a convex cross-vein (strut) between the media posterior and the cubitus anterior, which is shared primitively by all endopterygotes, and is not a "fifth medial branch."